God's Pocket

"Until recently you only had to die once in this city, even if you came from God's Pocket." Mickey Scarpato (Hoffman) is the step-father to a kid that no one in the city really likes. The son gets killed at work one day but no one will tell the truth about what happened. This doesn't bother Mickey and he is ready to bury him right away but his wife and the boys mother demands the truth. Mickey does what he can to find out what happened but between finding out the truth, trying to make his wife happy and finding a way to pay for the funeral things begin to pile on top of him. When his wife turns to news reporter Richard Shellburn (Jenkins) for additional help things really begin to spiral out of control. This is a tough movie to review. I did think the movie was good and tense but did move very slow and was hard to stay focused on. The acting was great and this was very realistic but again though the pacing made it hard to stay engrossed in. Hoffman did a great job of playing someone who seemed lost and under an immense amount of stress and Jenkins was great as a sleazy reporter. The number one reason to watch this is for the acting. The movie itself, again, is pretty good but it is one you have to be in the mood for otherwise it will be a struggle to make it through. Overall, a movie that is worth seeing if you are in the mind set for it. It's too bad that Hoffman died because he is great in roles like this. I give it a B-.

I was brought up thinking that a book had to have a story line packed full of memorable incidents, poems had to rhyme, and films were supposed to be full of action to be appreciated. I'm glad to say that I grew out of that 'please me quick' attitude. Yes if I'm in the mood for a dose of that I can gladly take it, but these days you are likely to overdose on that. I tend to seek films like this these days and I'm not at all disappointed. God's Pocket has been explained a few times already so I won't bother to do that. I'm just here to try and encourage others to enjoy this film for what it is, a great little offbeat film with tremendous characters, an everyday story of working people that takes a few twists and turns here and there, with a lovely dark streak running right through it. I for one loved it.

"God's Pocket" is an offbeat independent film that's dark and it shows that for many people and in many places life is tough and complex never being what it seems or is meant to be. The now late great Philip Seymour Hoffman is Mickey a tough wise guy on the mean streets of Philadelphia who earns his living with loans and collecting debts. His wife Jeanie(Christina Hendricks)is wise in top size even though she has a wandering eye! To make matters more complex Mickey's stepson Leon is killed one day at work they say an apparent accident that went wrong!? Then to make matters worse this film shows it's dark humor as to bury Leon has became a problem! Overall this film is dark, different and offbeat proving that life is tough and hard and tragic and it shows that many streets and towns are like "God's Pocket" as many people find themselves trapped in a closed up pocket.

Like a Bukowski poem set to music and sung by Tom Waits, a rancid, deep dark comedy of errors in an urban hell. An amazing ensemble of great actors. Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Turturro, Richard Jenkins, Eddie Marsan and many more of some of the finest drunks and lowlifes you'll see on film. Christina Hendricks, unfortunately, is out of place and out-skilled. The script walks with a limp and probably has a disease.

It's a sad world we live in. A world where such a sad and beautiful story, full of acting genius and human feeling gets a 6.1 by an ever-action-craving audience... If you love the art of cinema, please watch this one.